Posted on 12/19/2017 2:34:11 PM PST by nickcarraway
Depression takes an effect on a person's health. But there's a type of treatment using ketamine that can put a stop to it.
It's called Ketamine Infusion Therapy, a method healthcare professionals are using to not only ease the physical pain but the pain that no one sees.
"What we did not realize until fairly recently, probably the past 10 years, that it works on glutamate receptors which are specific receptors to depression, PTSD, anxiety, those mood disorders," said Tammy Vaught, a certified registered nurse anesthetist with the Ketamine Clinic of West Texas.
Vaught just opened the first ketamine clinic in Midland back in October.
“Midland and Odessa have a low per capita rate in mental health providers, we’re very under-serviced," said Vaught.
Here's how the infusion works, patients are taken into a quiet and calming room to ensure they're comfortable.
"The ketamine treatment and dysphoria can take them back especially for PTSD patients," said Vaught. "You want them in the calmest and safest environment they can be in. Safety and calmness go together in my opinion."
The patient is given a low dosage of ketamine and monitored throughout the procedure for 45 minutes. For the first two weeks, patients will go through therapy 6 times in 2 weeks. After that, depending on how a patient reacts, most won't have to go back until a month or two later.
"It is hugely beneficial and it is starting to repair neurons so we're seeing great results in the long term," said Vaught. "One thing that a lot of people in mental health talk about is people think of it as not as important, not as crucial, not as detrimental to their life because it's not visible."
You can't put a band-aid on mental illness. But with 45 minutes of treatment, it could put away years of depression. Not everyone is eligible and will react the same way. But on average, 3 out of 4 people experience benefit after treatment. The FDA has not approved ketamine to be used to treat depression since there's still more research being done. The clinic said there's no concern of abuse or overdose since the patient is administered by healthcare professionals. They also haven't found addiction when it's used in low doses.
"I hope to secure my own education to be a mental health practitioner to not only provide ketamine treatments but service our community and mental health across the board," said Vaught.
To inquire about therapy, you can contact the clinic at (432) 704-2133. The clinic is located in Midland at 1811 W Wall St.
From Wiki:
Ketamine, sold under the brand name Ketalar among others, is a medication mainly used for starting and maintaining anesthesia.[16] It induces a trance-like state while providing pain relief, sedation, and memory loss.[17] Also, ketamine is useful for chronic pain and for sedation in intensive care.[18][19] Heart function, breathing, and airway reflexes generally remain functional during its effects.[17] Effects typically begin within five minutes when given by injection with the main effects lasting up to 25 minutes.[20][16]
Common side effects include psychological reactions as the medication wears off.[21] These reactions may include agitation, confusion, or hallucinations.[16][21][22] Elevated blood pressure and muscle tremors are relatively common, while low blood pressure and a decrease in breathing are less so.[16][22] Spasms of the larynx may rarely occur.[16] Ketamine has been classified as an NMDA receptor antagonist but its mechanisms are not well understood as of 2017.[23]
Ketamine was discovered in 1962, first tested in humans in 1964, and was approved for use in the United States in 1970.[20][24] Shortly after its US approval it was extensively used for surgical anesthesia in the Vietnam War, due to its safety.[24] It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system.[25] It is available as a generic medication.[16] The wholesale cost in the developing world is between US$0.08 and US$0.32 per dose.[26] Ketamine is also used as a recreational drug.[27]
I had a little brush with PTSD that kind of just went away, although it will pop up every couple of years, generally when someone I knew from the Army visits.
I avoid all veterans’ events, Memorial Day, whatever, for this reason. I don’t even like when USAA “thanks me for my service.”
Very strange. Not like normal memories at all. All the details are there.
Not yet cynical, but VERY skeptical.
Isn't that reassuring?
Generally, yes..............
Cool. One of the CIA’s favorite drugs.
Why?
Sold on the street as Special K
We ought to be very cautious
Ketamine is shorter lasting PCP.
As a registered nurse, (though not a nurse anesthetist) you couldn’t pay me enough to administer ketamine in a specialized clinic setting, or a hospital setting, for that matter, for pain management, until far more research has been done. While I don’t doubt patients get a remarkable sense of well-being, it’s those “common side effects”, that worry me. Why don’t they just use LSD, instead? Makes about as much sense. Just the remotest chance that it could be psychologically harmful or dangerous, is enough for me to be leery, though Lord knows we need a substitute for opioids, ASAP, since the government (THANKS, Obama!) has now seen fit to take them away from chronic pain patients, who suffer excruciating pain, without adequate pain medication. I have a relative with chronic pain, and one pain specialist after another has informed her that their hands are tied; the government has threatened to take away their licenses, if they do not cut back opioid prescription dosages to next to nothing. (Our government’s way of “solving” the opioid “crisis”, since they can’t or won’t solve the REAL problem -— illegal opioid trafficking and use. Those “decrease in opioid use” figures are going to be impressive, yes?) Anyway, though I will be thrilled when an adequate, safe, inexpensive alternative to opioid pain medication is discovered (or doctors are again to prescribe for their patients as they see fit), ketamine clinics sound like a recipe for disaster. But I’d love to be proven wrong.
I had a friend who took a university study for depression and received a ketamine injection. The important thing is that they are now thinking the glutamate system is the problem, not serotonin. But most current drugs treat serotonin.
It would be wonderful if they could find a safe medication for depression that actually works. We have a tendency towards depression in my family, and it is miserable. I will say, when I went on a ketogenic diet for a couple of weeks, my depression was non-existent. Going back on it first of the year. I’ll have to look up how ketoacidosis affects glutamate.
So, did he end up getting a prescription for truffles? Or generic MSG?
Yeah. For years I avoided vets who used this in anesthesia for my dogs. The stuff is ugly for after effects. So me too.
It’s a part of Obamacare. What irritates me, is that they just accept what the experts (read lobbyists and special interest consultants) say. Trump has jumped on the bandwagon, too, and I seriously doubt if it occurs to him that it’s a fraud, because after all, there IS an opioid problem. But it’s the ILLEGAL drug trade, NOT the legal, medical use. And the politicians who profit from the illegal drug business don’t WANT to fix it. Look what we just discovered Obama did for the drug runners in connection with Iran. It’s deeper and wider, and much more corrupt than we know.
People pour the liquid on a plate, dry it with a hair dryer, and then scrape off the powder/flake.
I know someone who took too much, and slipped into a “K-hole”.
They use an extremely low dose in an i.v. The affect is immediate and positive. I wish I could go through it just out of curiosity.
We were never allowed to use Ketamine in the USAF for pilots for fear it might lead to loss of their flying status (dysphoria, hallucinations etc). I never used it without a benzodiazepine given first. Its a great drug for field surgery since it protects the airway and increases respiration as opposed to most anesthetics and doesn’t require a lot of equipment to administer. Like all drugs you have to know what it does good as well as what it does bad. This application seems a bit dodgy but I would want to see some studies.
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